Greece’s privatization fund TAIPED and the final-round bidders in a tender offering the development and operation of a prospective underground natural gas storage facility (UGS) at the almost depleted natural gas field of “South Kavala” in the Aegean Sea’s north have called for an increase of the project’s funding by energy network users to a degree of as much as 100 percent, from a level of 50 percent proposed by RAE, the Regulatory Authority for Energy.

This call for the project’s greater funding percentage by energy network users was expressed by TAIPED and the sale’s two candidates – Energean and a partnership bringing together gas grid operator DESFA and construction company GEK Terna – during consultation staged by RAE.

The project’s increased funding percentage by energy network users would ensure its sustainability, while, on the contrary, the risk level would be high, the tender’s final-round qualifiers noted.

RAE’s consultation covered the UGS project’s pricing framework and DESFA’s ten-year development plan from 2022 to 2031.